What's New

While increasing access to well-functioning markets for high-value agricultural products is one key component of agricultural and economic development, an equally important component is ensuring that smallholder producers, particularly women, have the capacity to take advantage of this increased access.

In a recent issue of Foreign Affairs , Christopher Barrett and Marc Bellemare write a stimulating note on the recent price movements in agricultural commodity markets. They appear to have three clear messages for policymakers:

First, price levels and price volatility are different concepts. In recent months, markets have been characterized by very high price levels, but volatility “although high these past few years, is not out of line with historical experience and is generally lower than it was in the 1970s.”

The USDA Economic Research Service has released the latest global outlooks for wheat, rice, feed crops, and oil crops.

Download wheat outlook

Download rice outlook

Download feed crop outlook

Download oil crop outlook

With the global population predicted to reach 9 billion by 2050, and incomes in developing countries to continue rising as well, increased global demand for food in the coming decades will place unprecedented pressure on sustainable food production. Climate change poses a further challenge, as changes in temperature and precipitation threaten agricultural productivity and the world’s capacity to feed a growing population.

GIEWS has released the latest Global Food Price Monitor, citing a slight rise in the FAO Food Price Index for June. The increase is based in large part on strong increases in global sugar prices, which are up 14 percent from May. At 234 points, June's Food Price Index remains 4 percent lower than the all-time high hit in February 2011.